Toronto police say there have been four deaths due to fentanyl and 20 incidents of fentanyl overdose since Thursday [within three days]. “Toronto police have issued a public safety alert after four deaths likely caused by fentanyl overdose in the past three days in downtown Toronto. Police said there have been four fatalities and 20 overdose incidents since Thursday. The most recent incident was on Saturday when a woman was found dead in a stairwell near Queen St. E and Trefann St. A 27-year-old man died on Thursday in the area of Queen St. W. and Bathurst St., where he allegedly overdosed on heroin laced with fentanyl, a powerful opioid that’s about 50 times stronger than heroin…” — excerpt from thestar.com, by Bryann Aguilar, Alanna Rizza. July 29, 2017. Read the full article, here. Mayor John Tory comments...

“Medication-assisted treatment is often called the gold standard of addiction care. But much of the country has resisted it. If you ask Jordan Hansen why he changed his mind on medication-assisted treatment for opioid addiction, this is the bottom line. Several years ago, Hansen was against the form of treatment. If you asked him back then what he thought about it, he would have told you that it’s ineffective — and even harmful — for drug users. Like other critics, to Hansen, medication-assisted treatment was nothing more than substituting one drug (say, heroin) with another (methadone).” – Updated by German Lopez, Vox.com Read the full article here on website:...

In Canada, there is a prevailing policy on how methadone maintenance treatment should be implemented by those participating in the program. The policy has been in place since 2014 with the introduction of the product that is indicated for use with opioid dependence treatment. Each province is responsible for implementing their respective guidelines for the treatment of opioid addiction using methadone. So what are the things that you should know? Getting Treatment It is common knowledge that methadone treatment in Canada is handled either by private practitioners or treatment centers. There are methadone treatment requirements that must be satisfied before an addict can become part of the program. You need to present proof, like a notarized letter from a physician attesting to the fact that you are receiving methadone. The letter should be written either in English or in...